Rescuing Wrestling Games from ‘Parts Unknown’

Posted by Jonny Richardson on 01.25.2009

It’s often said that the glory days of wrestling games are firmly in the past. With ‘WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 09’ being more of the same, and the less said about ‘TNA: iMPACT!’ the better, what steps could developers put in place to return this fine genre to the promised land?

We’ve all had one of those moments. The fantastic feeling you get when you realise that you hold something very special in common with another human being. It’s a connection, a shared obsession, a passion, a lifelong long love. It’s the good times and the bad - and it usually goes something like this: “NO. WAY. You like wrestling too!?! Awesome.” Like it or lump it, Pro-Wrestling is a past-time adored by millions, worldwide.

After the usual wrestle orientated ‘best match’, ‘favourite wrestler’, ‘top feud’ and ‘most curious facial hair’ discussions, the conversation often turns to the origins of your lifelong ensnarement in the comings and goings of the ‘biz’. Perhaps you were converted to wrestling whilst sitting on your Granddaddio’s knee in front of the TV when Ric Flair was going toe to toe with Terry Funk. Maybe you were taken to house shows, finding control over your jaw impossible as you stood mouth agape - awe-struck by the action taking place in the squared-circle. Then again, seeing Mick Foley launched head first into nothingness from the top of a cell at KOTR ’98 could have ignited your love for wrestling, with a sudden, sickening thud. Things for me, however, were a little different.

My first insight into the colourful world of wrestling was through a very small magical window, inhabited by 16-bit sprites. Alas the window wasn’t an inter-dimensional bit of double glazing, but a TV screen displaying one of my favourite video games of all time. Sculptured Software’s ‘WWF Royal Rumble’ (1993) was the title and my platform of choice was the Sega Mega Drive. I say choice, but really the Mega Drive was the only console I owned. Buying it for the NES or Sega Genesis would have been a little odd.

What made Royal Rumble so fantastical was its arcade brilliance. On top of a tournament style rush for the WWF World or Tag Team Title(s), narrated via newspaper headlines, matches gave you the ability to perform finishers unique to your character, the chance to clonk your opponent over the head with a steel chair (providing you lined perfectly lined up with your foe, otherwise you’d just look like you were violently attempting to swat flies) and to have referee bumps, which allowed you to perform illegal moves while the poor, overzealously selling bugger was down.


The glow is because it's angelic.

What really made me fall in love with wrestling was the way in which the game so clearly instilled unique personality into each of the characters. Rumble taught me, for example, that Lex Luger was a cocky SOB who took a moment after delivering his finisher to flex his statuesque muscles for the crowd. The Undertaker was scary, Shawn Micheals was cool, Jim Duggan was a man and Crush….Crush wore pink. Through just a few basic animations, character pictures and midi theme music, you could see how different the characters’ were. It encouraged me to tune in to the shows and see these larger than life personalities compete in the flesh.

While paddling in a pool of Royal Rumbley nostalgia may be fun only for myself and the 5 or so readers who probably grew up with the game, give me a second to do what’s commonly known as ‘getting to the point’.

Wrestling is in a constant state of flux. In order to survive, wrestling must change at the same rate that society changes. Each decade in modern history has its own specific styles, attitudes and fashions. Wrestling mirrors this. It evolves quicker than a Pokémon in a rare-candy eating contest.

Video games are a great example of how wrestling continually manages to understand pop-culture. Since the early 80’s a near constant stream of games have been released on various platforms, with titles that changed in style, structure and cast as often as the real life wrestling products themselves were changing. On top of the chameleon-like nature of wrestling, improving technology can be held responsible for the rate at which we’ve seen such rapid development in the evolution of these games. Technology has constantly improved, allowing the complexity of the games to increase.

Wrestling games were once considered among the best titles available on any platform. Fondly remembered titles such as ‘No Mercy’ (N64), ‘Day of Reckoning’ (GameCube) and ‘SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain’ (PS2) were not only ‘must-have-games’ for wrestling fans; but for anybody who thought of themselves as a fan of gaming.


Obligatory wrestling game pictures: #1 - Star Man

Yet it seems this is no longer the case. The rate of innovation in wrestling games has stagnated. The latest ‘WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw ’09’ while solid (411mania games team giving it an impressive score of 8.2 & ‘Best Alternative Sports Game of the Year 2008’ award), didn’t exactly present the next evolutionary step in wrestling games and ‘TNA: iMPACT’, released September 2008 (411mania score of 5.6), was about as fun as having your tonsils removed.

If technology is improving all the time, why aren’t the games getting any better? Why aren’t they as fun? Well dear reader, I wrote a list. A list!

Step 1: No more Commentary.

Commentary is an art form. Announcers are the spice which can transform the excellent dish being served up in ring, into something of legend – utterly immortalised in just a few choice words. On top of calling the moves and enlightening the viewer with little known facts and insider knowledge, announcers hold the key role of helping elaborate the story the wrestlers are telling with their in ring work.

Games are a little different, however. Players don’t use certain moves in order to make a cohesive match, or to tell a story. They pick the moves that’ll knobble their opponents as quickly and easily as possible. Therefore, announcing is reduced to simply explaining a little bit about the wrestlers, and saying the names of the moves. What’s the point in having a narrator if there’s no story to narrate?!


Leave now and never come back!

Commentary completely destroys the flow of these games, and after hearing the same call being made, or the same description of a wrestler, it destroys any immersion you may have in the game.


Step 2: Graphics aren’t the be all and end all of…all

In my opinion wrestling games, and in particular the WWE SVR series, are subject to the ‘Fifa Effect’. If you were to look up the Fifa soccer franchise in the dictionary, I’m sure it’s description include the words “The”, “Same”, “more” and “of” in some order or another. It’s essentially what SVR has devolved into. Each new game becomes a roster update and a graphical update.

Why the hell do developers continue to focus on graphics alone? If I were to release the prettiest game ever seen tomorrow, I guarantee that in 6 months time an abundance of prettier games will have been released, making my game as aesthetically pleasing as the elephant mans dog. What does my game have going for it then? Nothing! Releasing a game the following year with even prettier graphics doesn’t solve this problem! This is why a game like No Mercy released 9 YEARS AGO is better than SVR 2009. It didn’t sacrifice graphics for game play, story or fun.

Graphics may make the experience more real – but when Jim Ross is repeating the exact same description of a wrestler for the 47th time, realism has been well and truly kissed good-bye. If I want ‘high definition’ wrestling, I’ll catch a PPV for God’s sake.

Step 3: CAAAAAW!

No, I’m not making bird noises again. CAW stands for Create-A-Wrestler. Since its first appearance in ‘WWF War Zone’, CAW has gone from strength to strength. Create-A-Wrestler gives the player the chance to make their own superstar, re-create legends that aren’t included in the game, or play out any fantasy they so desire. Burning to knowing who would win in a 'Falls count anywhere' match between Jason Biggs and Will Smith? Me neither; but the point is with CAW, the only thing limiting the replay value of the game is your imagination (or lack thereof). Anything can happen with the wrestling buisness, and CAW is a way for players to go ahead with this.

When done well, CAW's are an art form. Good skins look professional and take yonks to make. All I ask for in a good game is more options, more customisation – and more time given to oft forgotten features such as Titanron videos and unique entrance music. It’s a horrible to have spent 3 hours fine tuning an imaginary wrestler and then have to have him come out to Randy Orton’s music.

Step 4: Act harder damn you. Act HARDER!

Stories are the driving force of every form of entertainment (with the possible exception of Monster Trucks). It’s no coincidence that some of the wrestling games which are considered amongst the best are also the ones with an interesting and eventful plot.

Whilst the in ring action is always going to be of central interests in a wrestling game, it’ll only ever be significant if there’s a story behind it. That’s why I’m always left a little befuddled that developers don’t take more time to fully create a story that lasts longer than say, 15 hours.


.......Triple H?

This accusation of lacklustre storytelling is aimed more toward the WWE arcade style wrestling games, as opposed to the brutally efficient Fire Pro Wrestling series. What the FPW series lacks in a ‘storyline’, it makes up for by having a style of wrestling which tells the story. You start off dainty; gentle moves like chops and wrist locks, before building toward the more terrifying power moves. As a result the matches build up over time. Much like real life.

If WWE games are going to have soap-opera style wrestling, then we at least deserve an entire season worth of soap-opera style programming. Although in retrospect I’m not really sure what soap-opera style stories are. Adoption? Premature death? A meteor, or a natural disaster of some kind?


Step 5: Stand back! There’s a Hurricane Vehicle Section you’ve got to struggle through.

It’s a prerequisite of any modern game. If they’re to keep up with the trends, wrestling games need vehicle sections! I’m not sure in what capacity a vehicle section would work considering that the stereotypically brilliant Mexicools and their ‘Juan Deeres’ are sadly no longer a part of the WWE machine. Perhaps if one day a developer creates a role-playing game in the style of “The Wrestler” (The Movie), then the player could drive to different arenas across the country! Proceed with caution - This may create the most boring game ever made.

Alternatively make JBL’s limo driver a playable character. Extra points for parallel parking.


Step 6: Do what I just said about that RPG!

Well, not exactly. Perchance mainstream wrestling games have gone too far down the arcade route. Why not attempt an RPG? If I remember correctly (Hurray for lazy journalism and not checking!) SVR is starting to adopt RPG values; with the DS version incorporating decisions about what to do with your characters off time.

Let’s expand this. The game starts in your childhood. You’re living in an idyllic village, which is promptly burnt to the ground by bored pirates. With your family dead and naught but the dream to defeat the evil pirate (who coincidentally is the top heel in the national wrestling promotion), you enlist in the local wrestling school, and start training. It’s then off to wrestle in bingo, beer or bowling halls depending on your starting race, and to not simply win matches, but become a well rounded worker who can make others look good too. Go from hero to zero. Or the other way round. You chose!

***


As I’ve mentioned only the mainstream wrestling titles, I feel it only fair to give a nod to the other competitors which complete the picture. I briefly touched on the Fire Pro Wrestling Series earlier; the most recent instalment was released in the west November 2007, but still demands your attention, if you’d be so kind. 411mania gave it a staggering 9.7/10. Clicky here for the review.

Ever wanted to play booker? Check out Total Extreme Warfare 2008 for one of the most in depth wrestling management games out there. If you’ve never tried it, do! Like pogo sticks, it’s curiously addictive. But also like pogo sticks, TEW will leave you despondent as you realise that you’re never going to be good enough to do as well as it deserves. While you’re over at the Grey Dog Software website, check out ’Wrestling Spirit 2’. It’s as close as any developer has gotten to a wrestling RPG. I bought it recently to check it out for this article, and it's stealing away my time quite nicely.

Finally, if none of these appeals to you and you’ve a sense of creativity about you, why not try a fantasy wrestling federation? Head to the 411mania forums, and mosey on down to the Twisted Championship Wrestling (TCW) section.

That's all I've got for today. Thanks for reading. Especially if you managed this far. If you skim read it, then go back and do the job properly! If you started reading and got bored after a few sentences....then.....damn you. If I meet you, I'll throw a yoyo at you.


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